Another Story, Another Net
by Annabeth23
Summary: This is a story about Beckendorf and Silena and their trip to Denver. If they find a water park, they might just end up at a place where some other well-known demigods have been... Anyway, I hope you like it, and please review!
1. Chapter 1

Clang! Bang! Clang! Cabin Nine was alive with the familiar sound of metal hitting metal. Charles Beckendorf, the head counselor of the Camp Half-Blood Hephaestus Cabin, was working incessantly with his fellow siblings to help prepare the camp for the impending Titan War by constructing as many useful weapons as possible. As he was putting some finishing touches on a celestial bronze dagger, Beckendorf said to his siblings, "I don't think we have too many more to go. We only have about one hundred shields, fifty swords, and twenty-five daggers left to make."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot… you actually like making weapons to the point where you're about to pass out and fall over. I didn't remember how insane you are for a second. Only one hundred seventy-five weapons to go, guys! No worries, though! Hmmm… If I'm calculating correctly, we'll probably be dead by the time we finish because by then the Titan War will be _over, _and we might have been killed. C'mon, Beckendorf! This is ridiculous!" cried Nyssa.

"Stop being so snappish, Nyssa. Look, I know you're all tired of sharpening blades and molding metal and polishing shields, but we can't stop now, and we of all people should understand that. We have to win this war, and the best way to help Percy, Annabeth, Chiron, and the Olympians with this cause is to supply all Camp Half-Blood demigods with as many weapons as possible. I understand. I really do. _I'm _even getting a little bored of this, but we have to keep going."

"Whatever, Beckendorf. You've had your lecture, and now you get to see your little Barbie doll of a girlfriend. She's closing her cabin door and walking over here now," replied Nyssa.

_I wish she'd just shut up sometimes. She's not usually like this, though. She's just cranky from working so hard, _Beckendorf thought. _I do not have a Barbie doll as a girlfriend. _However, he couldn't dwell on the thought much longer, for just then, he heard the sound of smoke hissing and gears turning, and the circular, thick metal door of Cabin Nine opened. Beckendorf whirled around to see Silena Beauregard standing in the doorway, looking as beautiful as always. Her slim figure and confident stance attracted everyone's attention, and her long hair rested perfectly against her shoulders. She looked at Beckendorf with her ever-changing colored eyes, alternately blue, green, and brown, which gave him a fluttering feeling in his stomach. Beckendorf thought, _She kind of does look like a Barbie doll, only prettier._

"Charlie! Charlie! Guess what?" Silena asked.

"You found either your makeup kit or your dagger?" Beckendorf replied.

"No, although I did actually find my dagger. Anyway, remember how you asked me if I could go anywhere on vacation with you, where would I go?"

"Of course, sweetheart."

"Well, I think I know where I would want to go. See, I was talking to Annabeth before, and she said that Denver seemed like a good idea. There are a ton of dance shows like The Nutcracker, and there are so many theaters and ski resorts in Colorado, and you said once that you might like to learn how to ski. Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I know you're really busy preparing here and everything, but wouldn't it be nice to take a break for a few days and go to Denver?"

"Sweetheart, have you really thought about this? I want to go, but it'll be really dangerous with the Titan War coming up and so many monsters trying to attack us. We'd have to be really careful. Plus, Chiron needs me to make a lot more weapons yet. I can't just leave without finishing my duty."

"I know, Charlie, but I think it would be really fun. We would always be armed and on the lookout. Remember, we're a team, not only in our relationship, but also in combat. As for Chiron, I'm sure he'd let you go with me if you just made a few more weapons and then left the remaining part of the task for everyone else. I mean, you work so hard. We'll just have to ask him. Pleeaaassse, Charlie…" She looked so desperate to go that Beckendorf couldn't say no.

"All right, I'll ask Chiron, but only as long as you promise we go skiing," he replied.

"I promise. I'll talk to Chiron, too," she said, smiling at him. Then she kissed him and walked out the door, heading in the direction of the Big House.

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	2. Chapter 2

"Charlie, I'm f-f-freeeeezzzing," Silena moaned to Beckendorf after a day of skiing in the mountains of Colorado. The couple had spent their whole entire second day of their trip on the slopes, Silena complaining about: a.) how horrible her hat hair looked, b.) how the melting snow on her face ruined her makeup, and c.) how her ski boots were both terribly painful and terribly good at rubbing off her bubblegum pink toenail polish. Although many would find her constant whining to be extremely annoying, Beckendorf found it to be absolutely adorable, and he kept comforting her with the thought that after skiing, they were going to find a nice restaurant where they could rest and talk about anything they wanted without a certain pair of frustratingly annoying sons of Hermes nearby.

"I know, honey. We're going to return our skis and leave now, okay? Then we'll get to the car and warm up a bit before finding a restaurant," replied the muscular, olive-skinned son of Hephaestus.

"Finally!" Silena cried. Beckendorf laughed at her sudden change of mood. He loved the way her sparkling eyes quickly lit up at the thought of leaving, and he slid his gaze down to her cute little nose, her raspberry red lips. _I can't help myself,_ he thought, and he kissed her for a minute, not really caring that they were still smack in the middle of the resort, with about fifty people staring at them. When they broke apart, Silena smiled up at him, and he grinned back at her easily. She then proceeded to walk away while laughing, and he followed before taking her hand and leading the way inside to the rental room.

As soon as he walked inside, Beckendorf knew something was wrong. First of all, the room was completely deserted except for one person behind the counter, which was not normal because the place was absolutely crowded outside, and many people obviously needed to start leaving now, especially those with children, for it was nearly eight o'clock. Secondly, the creepy teenager behind the counter kept staring at them from the second they walked in to the minutes after they sat down and began taking off their boots on a bench in the middle of the room. Yep, this guy was definitely a monster. Beckendorf didn't know if Silena noticed yet, and he didn't want to ruin her evening, but he had to tell her if she hadn't realized. Beckendorf sat on the floor and helped Silena take off her boots, giving her a significant glance in the process. She nodded, understanding his thoughts, and she glanced at him with a determined look on her face, her lips set in a straight line. She was ready to fight. This was one of Silena's characteristics that Beckendorf loved most. She enjoyed having lots of fun, and at first, many would think of her as just a regular boy-crazy, bubbly teenage girl. Those who were close to her, however, knew that on the inside, she was a strong, courageous demigod, full of plenty of determination. This made Beckendorf smile to himself, and he picked up both Silena's pair and his own pair of boots, taking them over to the counter to return them.

"We'd like to return these, please," Beckendorf told the monster behind the counter.

"Whatever," the creature replied, taking the boots from him and turning around to put them into their cubby behind the counter. As soon as the monster turned around, though, both Silena and Beckendorf noticed its body slowly changing. Its human head stayed the same, but its body began growing fur and a mane, along with shiny, black bat wings and the tail of a scorpion. _A manticore,_ Silena thought to herself.

"I'll distract while you sneak up from behind and stab it," Silena whispered to Beckendorf.

"Sure thing," he whispered back to her, smirking at the way she took control.

Silena turned back to the monster, which was now staring at her angrily, before screaming, "HEY, YOU DISGUSTING MUTT! OVER HERE! COME AND GET ME!"

She led it out from behind the counter and toward the door. Just as the manticore was a few feet from the threshold and Silena almost outside, Beckendorf climbed on top of the counter and screamed, "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING HER, DUDE!" before jumping. He landed on the creature's back and stabbed it with his celestial bronze sword, and it transformed into dust beneath him.

Beckendorf fell to the floor and looked up at Silena, grinning. She grinned back and held out her hand to help him up, which he gladly took. He stood up and looked into her eyes. "Well, that was easy," he whispered in her ear before wrapping his arm around her waist and leading her to the door.

Silena smiled up at him, her eyes twinkling, and said, "Come on, silly. Time for dinner."


	3. Chapter 3

After returning to Denver and driving around in the rented car for an extra half hour to find Silena's idea of a perfect restaurant, the couple finally sat down at their table at a place called The One and Only. Even though Beckendorf didn't have an official license, he'd snuck out of camp for some Saturday drives multiple times with the Stoll brothers, so he had enough experience to safely drive Silena around, along with a useful ability to talk police officers out of giving him tickets.

Beckendorf chuckled softly as he read the restaurant's name to himself. _Such an Aphrodite name, _he thought.

The waitress soon came to their table to ask for their orders. "I'll have a Sprite and a large Caesar salad, please," Silena said.

"And I'll have a Coke and the four-ounce filet mignon, please," Beckendorf ordered.

As soon as the waitress left, Silena asked, "Wanna play Would You Rather?"

"Sure," Beckendorf replied. He took her hand and held it across the table. Beckendorf thought she looked absolutely stunning. Her blonde hair took on an almost caramel color in the dim lighting of the restaurant. Her eyes started changing color again, and when she had turned to look at the waitress, Beckendorf thought (for only the fiftieth time) about how perfect her profile was.

Silena smiled at him and asked, "Would you rather see Connor and Miranda or Travis and Katie get together?"

"Definitely Travis and Katie," Beckendorf replied. "I mean, that would be both interesting and hilarious."

Silena laughed before saying, "Your turn."

"Okay." Beckendorf thought for a moment. Then he asked, "Would you rather have the ability to control water like Percy or be super smart like Annabeth?"

"Super smart because then I would have realized how much you loved me in the first place, and then I wouldn't have been so nervous about you loving me back all the time," Silena replied without blushing even slightly.

Beckendorf smiled, Silena's hand still in his, and said, "I've loved you ever since the day you walked down Half-Blood Hill for the first time with your two hundred pounds of luggage. It was right after you fought the Minotaur."

At this, Silena blushed slightly. As a daughter of Aphrodite, it was just physically impossible for her to pack only _half_ of her wardrobe. How was she supposed to know what clothes she would need every day? She had to be prepared, right?

After a few more rounds of this, the waitress brought out their food, and the couple ate in comfortable silence. Silena didn't notice, but Beckendorf looked as if he was enjoying watching her more than enjoying actually eating. Soon after, they ordered dessert (a piece of warm blueberry pie that they both shared), and then Beckendorf paid with the money Chiron had provided for their trip.

The two demigods were slowly making their way to their car when Silena noticed something. "Charlie," she said while pointing to an abandoned amusement park on the outskirts of town, "does that name sound familiar to you?"

Beckendorf looked to where she was pointing. He saw an old wooden roller coaster with only half of its tracks intact. He then read the sign above it. "Waterland? Yeah, that kind of does sound familiar, but I don't know why. Wanna go check it out?"

"Why not?" Silena replied, and they started walking in the direction of the park, passing their car on the way.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Silena and Beckendorf were close enough to the park to see it fully, Beckendorf suddenly started laughing hysterically.

"What is it?" Silena asked uncertainly.

Beckendorf just laughed harder. Before long he was actually lying on the sidewalk, clutching his sides with tears streaming down his face. After about two minutes of this, he opened his eyes to see Silena glaring down at him, obviously very annoyed at his sudden outburst. He quickly stood up and looked at her, trying not to smile. "Uh, sorry about that," he said. "It's just that there's this ride over there with a sign over it that says 'Thrill Ride O' Love.' It's… It's just that… IT'S SO PATHETIC!" He cried between fits of laughter.

Silena just looked at him.

"I mean, who would ever go on THAT?" Beckendorf kept on laughing.

"Charlie, _you're_ pathetic. It's not even funny, just ridiculously stupid. Stop laughing like an idiot, and let's go."

After one more minute of laughter, Beckendorf finally said, "Okay, I'm good now. I promise." He still had a lopsided grin on his face.

Silena stayed silent for about ten more seconds, just to test his sanity. "Okay, then. Start walking." He took her hand and acted like nothing had happened. Soon enough, the couple arrived at the fence on the outside of the park.

"C'mon, let's climb over the top. This place is just too hilarious to ignore. Plus, I want to find out why it sounds so familiar," Beckendorf said.

"But there's barbwire at the top," Silena protested.

"I'll hold it down for you, and you do the same for me on the other side," he replied easily. Silena nodded, and the two were soon on the other side of the fence, walking toward the 'Thrill Ride O' Love' to find any clues as to why they had heard about this place.

Beckendorf was looking around, suppressing a laugh every now and then at how ridiculous the rides and their names were, when he noticed that Silena had suddenly stopped dead in her tracks in front of him. "What?" he asked, staring at the disbelieving expression plastered on her face.

"Look," Silena said with her eyes wide, pointing to something in front of her.

Beckendorf looked to where Silena was pointing, his breath catching in his throat as he absorbed the scene before him. Only a few feet from where they were standing, the ground opened up into a large,deep, round pit. Beckendorf figured it had once been a pool. Cupids with bows and arrows faced each other on the outside of the pit. At this, Beckendorf almost laughed, but he immediately lost the urge to do so when he saw what Silena was referring to. In the middle of the drained pool was a little boat with a love seat and a canopy, and it held the most disgusting scene Beckendorf had ever seen in his life. There in the boat was Silena's mother, Aphrodite, and sitting next to her was none other than Ares himself. The godly couple was obviously on another secret date, hiding from Hephaestus in an effort to avoid his embarrassing remarks about their relationship. They were kissing each other, still completely oblivious to the fact that two demigods were standing by the pool, watching them.

"Oh. Uh…" Beckendorf's mind went blank. He looked at Silena, who looked just as dazed as he was. After another thirty seconds of disbelief, Beckendorf was finally able to think again. He slowly turned to look at Silena, who then snapped out of her oblivious state. She looked back at him, and he pointed in the direction of the park entrance, signaling for her to quietly sneak out with him. She nodded ever so slightly and began to turn toward the entrance when she, along with Beckendorf, heard a gasp and then a deafening scream. The couple immediately turned around in the direction of the pool, their eyes wide at the scene in front of them.

The 'Thrill Ride O' Love' had become the 'Thrill Ride O' Horror.'

Everything had suddenly turned into chaos within a matter of seconds. The Cupids began shooting their arrows, which apparently had golden strings attached, and formed some sort of net above Aphrodite and Ares. Even creepier were the Cupids' heads, which began bending backward to show cameras. Suddenly Hephaestus's voice rang out, "Live to Olympus in one minute… fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven…" Silena and Beckendorf were absolutely shocked. They had to get away now before the gods realized they were there. That would be totally embarrassing! At the same time, though, they were about to see Hephaestus TV, which they'd never seen before and really wanted to witness, as long as they weren't a part of the show. What should they do?

The demigods stayed rooted to the spot.

Soon the pool started filling up with mechanical spiders. Aphrodite just screamed harder. "ARES, I SWEAR TO ZEUS! IF YOU DON'T GET THESE THINGS OFF ME, WE ARE OVER FOR AT LEAST ANOTHER MILLENNIUM!"

Silena stared at her mother in shock while Beckendorf tried to hold in a billion laughs. He could see why his father did this to them. It was just too priceless.

A huge flat-screen TV slowly dropped from behind the ride's name sign and stopped when it hung right in front of Aphrodite and Ares. It suddenly turned on, revealing the Hall of the Gods. In the center of the screen sat Hephaestus, looking smug from finally catching the godly couple in an embarrassing situation once again. He was lying back on his La-Z-Boy chair and/or throne when he said, "Caught once again by my ingenious plan, if I do say so myself. Enjoying ourselves, are we?"

Aphrodite glared at him before saying, "As a matter o' fact, we were, actually. Ares was just about to take me out to dinner."

"Oh, really, Mr. 'I'm-So-Cool-And-Deadly-I-Have-A-Human-Skull-On-My -Throne?'" Hephaestus asked, using air quotes.

"Yes, I was, Mr. Fix-It, and I didn't think you'd care, considering Aphrodite hasn't liked you for quite a few millennia!" Ares retorted.

"Oh, you knew I'd care, you– " Hephaestus suddenly stopped, looking in the direction of the corner of the TV screen. Unfortunately, this was exactly where Beckendorf and Silena were standing. The demigods had hoped that if they stood as still as statues, they'd stay unnoticed by the gods, but apparently this wish hadn't come true. Ares and Aphrodite turned around to see Silena and Beckendorf standing there, their faces beet red.

"Silena?" Aphrodite asked.

"Charles?" Hephaestus also questioned.

The two demigods just looked at their parents, then to each other, then back to their parents again.

"Oh, uh, hey, Dad," Beckendorf replied.

"Um, hi, Mom," Silena said.

The two gods just stared at their children in utter disbelief.

"What are you two doing here?" Hephaestus asked.

"Oh, uh, we were just… We were just leaving," Beckendorf answered.

"No, you weren't, Charles. Tell me why you're here."

"Well, uh, Silena and I are staying in Denver for a few days, and we came here because the name of the park sounds really familiar to us for some reason, so we decided to check it out. We were just looking around when we saw…"

"We were looking around when we saw my mom and Ares getting trapped," Silena finished. Beckendorf was thankful not only for her help, but also for the fact that she didn't include the few minutes before the gods actually became trapped in the net.

"Yeah, and then we saw the TV and we thought… We thought it might be kind of interesting to watch…" Beckendorf couldn't explain anymore. He was sure his dad was going to be absolutely furious with him.

Instead, Hephaestus just smiled at his son and said, "Well, I'm glad you didn't leave for two reasons. First of all, I am absolutely thrilled that at least _someone_ appreciates my amazing entertainment for the gods, Hephaestus TV. Secondly, I am also ecstatic at the fact that you got to witness the faces of a cheater and her equally guilty, pathetically cocky boyfriend in a ridiculously embarrassing situation."

"Excuse me?" Aphrodite asked.

"Dude, what's your problem? We were just—" Ares began.

"ENOUGH!" shouted someone out of view of the screen. Somebody turned the camera in the Hall of the Gods, and Silena and Beckendorf saw none other than Zeus himself, sitting on his platinum throne. "Hephaestus, face it. Aphrodite hates your ugly face, just like I do. My gods, that's why I threw you off Mount Olympus in the first place, you idiot. Just accept the fact that you're the most unattractive person in the world, and get on with your life. Go play with some of your little screws and washers or something…" he said, rolling his eyes.

"OKAY, YOU WANNA GO? FINE! I'LL GO! YOU'RE THE WORST FATHER EVER! I MEAN, WHO THROWS THEIR OWN KID OFF OLYMPUS 'CAUSE HE'S NOT A BEAUTY QUEEN? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 'BYE, BYE, BABY! I'M JUST GONNA IGNORE YOUR INNER GENIUS AND GET RID OF YOU BECAUSE YOU DON'T LOOK AS GOOD AS I WANT YOU TO! SEE YOU AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MOUNTAIN! OH, WAIT, I WON'T, ACTUALLY, BECAUSE I'M TOO BUSY SITTING IN MY CHAIR, USING MY LIGHTENING BOLT TO SHOOT BIRDS OUT OF THE SKY, LETTING DEMIGODS HANDLE THE FATE OF THE WORLD!' I MEAN, SERIOUSLY, MAN! WHO DOES THAT?"

The camera then turned to Apollo and Artemis. "Guys, let's just stop fighting and relax, okay? I've had a long day 'cause, uh, you know, I ride my chariot and make the sun come up. I'm just super awesome like that, you know? Anyway, let's just chill…"

"Oh, please," replied his twin. "You don't do anything but make that stupid sun rise and flirt with the Nine Muses all day. _I'm_ the one who does all the hard work around here. After making the moon rise, I hunt with my group of demigod maidens, fighting monsters and saving the world, all while NOT flirting. Love is ridiculous, you idiot. I don't need men in my life _at all_."

While the twins kept bickering, the camera turned to Dionysus, who was, as always, looking bored and swirling his finger in a goblet of wine. _Not much going on there, _Silena thought to herself before the camera moved again, focusing on Hera.

Hera simply sat on her ivory throne with her usual scowl on her face, evidently annoyed at the situation. She sighed and eventually stood up, walked over to Zeus and Hephaestus (who were still arguing), and started screaming in their ears. "SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU! IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL ANY BETTER, EVERYBODY HERE KNOWS YOU'RE BOTH THICKHEADS!"

"OH, AND YOU!" Hephaestus screamed. "THANKS SO-O-O MUCH FOR EFFECTIVELY HIDING ME FROM HIM! IT'S NOT LIKE YOUR PLAN COMPLETELY FAILED! IT'S NOT LIKE I GOT THROWN OFF OLYMPUS 'CAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO SOLVE PROBLEMS CORRECTLY!"

"JUST SHUT UP ALREADY! AT LEAST I TRIED! SOMETIMES I THINK YOU ACTUALLY DESERVE WHAT YOU GOT, YOU SPOILED BRAT!"

Once again, the camera shifted, revealing Poseidon in his swivel chair. He just sat there, obviously amused at the quarrel between his brother, Hephaestus, and Hera. He looked at the three of them and smirked before picking up his trident and pretending it was a fishing pole. He faked the motion of reeling in a fish.

The camera turned to Demeter, who was sitting on her throne made of assorted plant life and a tiny yellow seat cushion. She was providing everyone with a scowl that made Katie Gardner's look angelic.

Finally, the camera shifted and focused on Athena, who was sitting stiffly in her silver throne with golden basket-work on the back and a crown of violets at the top. She looked around the room with her startling grey eyes, giving everyone a cold glare. "This is ridiculous. I really am the only mature one around here." Then she screamed, "YOU DUNCES! I'M SURROUNDED BY IDIOTS!"

The camera was turned away from the gods, revealing the person behind it. Beckendorf and Silena recognized the salt-and-pepper hair, the elfish features, the mischievous grin. "Hermes," they both said in unison.

"Yes, I decided to use all this quarreling to my advantage, demigods. I do love a good laugh every once in a while. Also, I decided the gods might start acting a little more mature if you two share your experience tonight with the others at Camp Half-Blood. I could do with a little less arguing. Please let the message spread that the immortals in charge of the world act like buffoons all the time and that it's time for them to grow up a bit. Oh, and while you're at it, please tell my Stoll boys that I said to keep up the good work at camp. They really are becoming some of the best pranksters I've ever seen, and that's saying something." Then with a wink and a smile, he turned off the camera, the screen turning to static.

Aphrodite and Ares turned around to look at the two demigods, obviously stunned and embarrassed. Before any questions could be asked, Silena said to her mother, "Well, Mom, I think it's time for us to get going now. We should leave before it gets too late." With that, she took Beckendorf's hand and turned on her heel, both of them leaving a shocked pair of lovers in their wake.


End file.
